By Yasuo Sasaki.
Nisei physician Yasuo Sasaki practiced medicine in small Midwestern communities during the 1960s. He also wrote poetry. In this collection of short poems written in the late 1960s, Sasaki observes, with an ironic and witty eye, the contradictions, tensions and surprises of American life during a time of turbulent political and cultural change. Some of the poems—focused on hippies, Happenings, and miniskirts—are products of their era but transcend their specific references. And many of the poems are as fresh and relevant today as when they were written. A coda of 18 poems, composed in the 1980s after Sasaki retired and was living in Berkeley, caps the collection with his commentaries on that era. Village Scene, Village Herd may remind students of literature of another doctor/poet, William Carlos Williams, who wrote about American life in the early 20th century.
Sasaki was a pioneering Nisei writer in the 1930s, founding one of the first Nisei literary magazines, "Reimei," while a student at the University of Utah. "Village Scene, Village Herd" is testament to Sasaki’s literary talents in the second half of his life. Sasaki is mentioned in the recent book The Great Unknown by Greg Robinson.
Paper: 73 pp.
This vintage volume is out of print but has been made available to the JANM store by the family.
